


Paradigm Shift

by bluedragoninamber



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Pre-Canon, Pre-Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Supernatural Elements, The Living Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedragoninamber/pseuds/bluedragoninamber
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yan Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn are the most mismatched master and padawan pair that the Jedi Order has ever seen.  But when Qui-Gon is trapped in a thunderstorm and Dooku goes after him, the Living Force will grant them an amazing gift...and a second chance at understanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradigm Shift

** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

 ** AN ** **: This story is essentially pre-canon and deals with the master/padawan relationship between Dooku and Qui-Gon. It grew out of me asking what if Dooku came to share Qui-Gon’s connection to the Living Force? For now, this story is complete, but I might continue it at a later date. I hope you enjoy it.**

            Dooku knew that he had only his own arrogance and pride to blame for his current situation. He had told Yoda, his master, that for his first padawan, he wanted a challenge. It was Yoda who had brought Qui-Gon to his attention even before Dooku had been knighted. Even as an initiate, the boy was clearly set apart from his peers with an incredibly strong connection to the Living Force that bewildered Dooku even as it intrigued him. Frankly, Dooku was surprised that no other master had snatched Qui-Gon up before he could get to him. Dooku suspected that Yoda had a hand in it. Though he and his master had not had the easiest apprenticeship, Dooku had no doubt that Yoda was a keen judge of master and padawan pairings. Clearly, Yoda had made sure that Qui-Gon was reserved for Dooku.

            But at times like these, Dooku also wondered if his old master was intent on repaying him in kind for their difficult apprenticeship.

            Qui-Gon had just turned twelve when Yoda had finally approved Dooku to take Qui-Gon as his padawan. The boy had agreed willingly enough, and Dooku knew it was partly Dooku’s own youth that had intrigued the boy. Rarely were masters as young as he was, a mere handful of years older than Qui-Gon.

            And it had begun to seem like if Qui-Gon had his way, Dooku would be an old man well before his time.

            From the very first day, they had clashed. Anything, everything became a bone of contention between them. He tried to teach Qui-Gon the standard meditation patterns but found that the boy had created his own that “work much better, no thank you, Master.” Dooku’s favored saber fighting form, well-suited to his tall, elegant frame, was a complete mismatch for Qui-Gon’s gangly arms and legs and large frame. Though it was immediately clear that Qui-Gon would reach, and likely surpass, his master’s height, it was also clear that he would never be what anyone would dare call delicate or spare. Thus, Dooku found himself handing his padawan off to another master for most of his saber training. When he and Qui-Gon did spar, it was an ugly clashing of sabers and too often ended with Qui-Gon hurt, despite Dooku’s best intentions. His padawan had far too soft a heart, and Dooku, somewhere within himself, was oddly touched that Qui-Gon worried about hurting his master more than being hurt himself.

            And then there was the Force. Dooku was a man of order and precision. He preferred routine and looked to tradition as a guide for his life. The Force was slotted into its appropriate place and never stepped out of it. Though he properly considered its input when making decisions, he never allowed it to overwhelm him. He expected to bring his padawan up that way, teaching him to use the Force as a guide only, a reality to be considered and contemplated but a reality that stayed firmly in its secondary position.

            However, Qui-Gon was essentially in thrall to the Force, specifically to the Living Force that linked all living things together. Yoda had mentioned that the Order had not had a member so attuned to the Living Force in decades, if not centuries. Dooku had brushed his comment aside, unaware of just how much difficulty Qui-Gon’s particular talent (sometimes Dooku privately called it a curse) would cause him. Qui-Gon adored plants and animals the way that Dooku adored debating and politics. Trying to keep the boy inside, and particularly away from the Temple greenhouses, was often a lost cause no matter what punishments Dooku administered. Qui-Gon had a distressing habit of trying to heal every hurt animal he found, animals which often ended up in their quarters, to Dooku’s abiding dismay.

            His padawan was a devoted adherent of the Living Force practice of “living in the moment,” and Dooku quickly learned that planning ahead and looking to the future were simply not of great importance to Qui-Gon. Dooku, who leaned toward the Unifying Force when he leaned toward a side of the philosophical debate at all, simply could not connect with him. No amount of lecturing or shared meditation could bridge the gap between them, and, as the first year of Qui-Gon’s apprenticeship drew to a close, Dooku found himself worried that he and his padawan would never truly be attuned to each other and would never have that unreserved bond that was the ultimate goal of a master and padawan pair. Qui-Gon would be the poorer for it, and Dooku…Dooku would have to admit that he had failed.

            That was one outcome which Dooku was simply not willing to accept.

            But as Dooku stared out over the Temple grounds as a violent thunderstorm rolled in, he realized that it was one he might have to accept…if he obeyed his head rather than his heart.

            He and Qui-Gon had fought, again, that afternoon. Qui-Gon had been busy worrying over some of the Temple greenhouse’s plants that weren’t doing well while Dooku insisted that they work on katas. The argument had escalated from there and ended with Qui-Gon storming out, as he often did, while Dooku attempted to meditate. Not only had the meditation not helped Dooku, but Qui-Gon had missed dinner and still had not returned. At first, Dooku had not worried. Qui-Gon often fled to the woods behind the Temple and was quite capable of taking care of himself. But when Dooku realized there was a strong thunderstorm approaching, strong enough for the Council to call everyone into the buildings, he reconsidered.

            “Lost your padawan, have you, Master Dooku?” Yoda asked.

            Dooku shifted uncomfortably. “Qui-Gon and I had an argument. He fled to the woods as he often does. He has not yet returned.”

            Yoda’s ears flattened. “Manage on his own, he must. Forbidden from leaving the Temple complex, all are by Council judgment. After the storm, you may search for him.”

            Dooku carefully kept his face and expression blank. “Of course, Master Yoda. If you will excuse me, I must meditate.”

            With a wave of his gimer stick, Yoda dismissed him. Dooku walked most of the way back to his quarters, far enough that Yoda would think he had returned there. But Dooku knew that there was a side exit from the Temple nearby. To his relief, it was unguarded. He opened the door to driving rain, howling wind, deafening thunder, and lightning that was far too close for his comfort.

            It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that his padawan was somewhere out there in the storm…at risk and possibly in grave danger. He could handle a Council reprimand. But Dooku wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he let his padawan die. The two of them might not be the best master and padawan pair…but mismatched though they were, Dooku would not abandon him.

            Steeling himself, he slipped out the door.

            Unbeknownst to him, Yoda was well aware when Dooku left. Shaking his head, he turned toward the Council chambers where the Councilors were busy taking a head count. He would tell them that Master Dooku and Padawan Jinn were unaccounted for.

            “Necessary though, this is. Coming to those two, change is. Feel it, I can.” Yoda wasn’t sure in that moment if he was stating a fact…or trying to reassure himself.

            “With them both, may the Force be,” he said, his hand tightening ever so slightly on his gimer stick as he made his way back down the hall.

            Dooku ran through the heavily forested Temple grounds, though he was reduced to a jog and even a walk in some places. Several trees had already come down, and lightning had split several others in half. Using the Force where he could, he climbed over or crawled under fallen logs, dislodged rocks, and more kinds of vegetation than even Qui-Gon could probably identify. All the while, he screamed his padawan’s name even as he mentally called out to him across their bond. He was beginning to wonder if lightning could possibly interfere with mental transmissions when he finally felt a response. It was wordless as always, but it was definitely Qui-Gon. Blinded by the driving rain, Dooku flung himself forward against the wind, relying solely on the Force to guide him to his padawan.

            He stumbled up one hill, tumbled down the other side, and scrambled to his feet on the muddy ground as he shoved his sopping wet hair out of his eyes. All at once, he saw Qui-Gon and felt his heart drop into his stomach.

            Like a bird of prey with his wings spread to the sky, Qui-Gon stood at the top of the hill with his arms outstretched. His cloak whipped around him in the wind even as the lightning flashed around him to the point that he appeared to be bathed in light. Dooku’s breath caught, and he wasn’t sure if he felt fear or awe. The boy seemed to be in a trance state, and, even though Dooku would swear by the Force that the lightning was striking him, it didn’t seem to be harming him. No, it was as though the lightning was embracing him. For a bare moment, Dooku wondered if it could be Force Lightning, but he discarded that idea immediately. Qui-Gon had not conjured this…he had merely welcomed it when it approached him.

            Struggling against the wind, Dooku climbed up the hill. Finally, he managed to stand, torn between grabbing his padawan to check him for injuries and backing away from the lightning that danced around him. Qui-Gon’s eyes were blown wide and…to Dooku’s relief…there was no hint of Sith yellow. There was only the bluest blue that he had ever seen.

            Dooku had heard of this before, and he had thought it merely a legend. But now, with the proof right in front of him, Dooku knew it to be true.

            Qui-Gon was one with the Living Force. Yet, he lived!

            Time blurred after that. For endless moments, Dooku simply watched his padawan, watched and wondered and somewhere within himself, wept…because Qui-Gon was being granted an experience that Dooku would never have. Compared to his amazing boy, Dooku was as prosaic as a stone. This oneness with the Force would forever be beyond his reach. Truly, after this, Dooku would be fortunate if he was even allowed to keep Qui-Gon as his padawan…one so strong in the Force would likely be much better suited for the guidance of a far different Jedi than himself.

            “Master,” Qui-Gon said.

            Dooku dragged himself from his thoughts. “Padawan?”

            The sheer ecstasy on the boy’s face was hard to look at. “I have no words for this.”

            Dooku struggled to stay upright as he was buffeted by the wind. “There is no need for words, Qui-Gon.” He watched the wind whip Qui-Gon’s padawan braid around his face.

            Dooku swallowed, his throat dry despite the rain. “Would it surprise you that I envy you? You are having an experience that most Jedi can only dream of, and I can’t even dream of it. I’ve never had a sensitivity to the Living Force or the Unifying Force. I’ve never even had a Force vision.” He smiled sadly. “I wish I could feel what you are feeling.”

            Qui-Gon spoke from a halo of light. “But what if you could, Master? What if you could feel it? What if I could wake the Living Force in you? Would you want that?”

            Dooku’s brown eyes widened. “With all my heart. But how can you?”

            Qui-Gon smiled gently. “Spread your arms, Master, and take my hands in yours. Drop your mental shields completely and open yourself as wide as you can to our training bond.”

            Dooku hesitated only a moment. He stared deep into his padawan’s wide blue eyes.

            “I trust you,” he said. Then he reached out and clasped Qui-Gon’s hands. Dooku let his shields fall. He felt his padawan’s gentle mind touch his own, prodding an area that he had never been aware of before. As he’d watched Qui-Gon do so many times to plants, the dormant part woke, coming alive like a flower in the sun after a rainstorm. Dooku marveled at the feeling, as though a dead part of his heart had been brought to life again. Suddenly, he felt the thunderstorm…yet he felt no fear. He laughed for sheer joy as a bevy of new perceptions overwhelmed him. Dooku reached out to them, letting Qui-Gon guide him as he opened himself to the wondrous fury of the storm.

            And just as the lightning had embraced Qui-Gon, it reached for Dooku. He welcomed it.

            Dooku would recall the next moments only as a blurry, blissful whirlwind of impressions. He screamed, clinging to his padawan’s hands as the sensation of freefall overtook him. Qui-Gon simply laughed and steadied him, and then suddenly, they both seemed to be high above the ground, following the path of the lightning. This was not the controlled, channeled, orderly Force of meditation and lightsaber combat. This was the wild Force of nature…the Force that could not be controlled, merely clung to for dear life. The raw power of it abraded their nerve endings, seared their minds, and surged like fire through their bodies…and yet did not harm them. Finally, they seemed to hurtle toward the ground in a spinning, twisting, turning nexus of energy…faster and faster and faster…until they opened their eyes to find themselves in a tangled heap on the hilltop, gasping for breath as the worst of the storm began to abate.

            For a time, neither of them could speak. Dooku did not let go of Qui-Gon. Instead, he pulled the boy into his arms, cradling him against his chest. Dooku told himself that it was because he was still dizzy and suspected Qui-Gon was too. But one look into his padawan’s wide eyes told him that Qui-Gon was feeling the very same need to cling to his master. Qui-Gon’s long arms wrapped around his neck, and the boy laid his head against his master’s shoulder. Dooku had never held his padawan like this before, but he did not question the urge to do so now. He drew his hand down the boy’s face and leaned down to press his lips against Qui-Gon’s wet hair. There were words he wanted to say, but they stuck in his throat. He tugged on his padawan’s braid and met his eyes. Dooku sent the words across their bond, well aware that Qui-Gon could not hear them. The two of them had never had a close enough bond to be able to speak telepathically.

_It’s alright, Master. I know. I didn’t know before tonight, but I know now. And I feel the same._

            Dooku’s eyes widened. _Padawan? You can hear me?_

            Qui-Gon smiled. _Yes, Master, I can hear you. It seems that the Living Force has given us another gift._

 _Our bond is completed._ Dooku’s mental voice radiated quiet amazement. _I had begun to worry that it never would._

_That is in the past now, Master. It has._

            Dooku tightened his hold on the boy. _I am so glad, Padawan._

            Qui-Gon grinned. _So am I._

            For a while, they simply sat there, embracing each other and listening to the steady beat of the rain.

            Finally, Dooku sighed. “As loathe as I am to point this out, we should probably consider returning to the Temple. Now that the storm is easing off, they will probably think about forming a search party to find us.”

            Qui-Gon looked at him with both resignation and curiosity. “You’re probably right. But why did you come after me alone anyway? Didn’t the Council think it was dangerous enough that you should have someone else with you?”

            Dooku cleared his throat, feeling the slight blush that darkened his cheeks. “Well, Qui-Gon, as it happened, the Council forbade anyone to leave the Temple complex. I came after you without permission.”

            Qui-Gon gaped at him. “Master, you disobeyed the Council…for me?”

            Dooku swallowed around a lump in his throat. “Padawan, you and I have not had the easiest time with each other. But hear these words, and know that I am speaking the truth.” He paused, speaking across the bond as well as aloud. “You are more important to me than the Council.”

            Dooku wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he was expecting from the boy. All he knew was that he’d needed to say those words, and he did not regret them. He was not expecting Qui-Gon’s swift kiss to his cheek and the boy’s whisper in his ear.

            “Me, too.”

            The walk back was more leisurely than either of them had expected. Dooku found that his new awareness of the Living Force made every detail of the forest, the ground, and the sky utterly fascinating. Qui-Gon felt his master’s bemused frustration over his distraction and simply laughed.

            “Now you know what it’s like for me, Master.” Qui-Gon smiled. “I’ll teach you some of my meditation patterns if you’d like. They’ve helped me a lot in dealing with it.”

            Dooku nodded. “I’d appreciate it, Qui-Gon. I’ve got to be able to concentrate better than this.” Then he was kneeling again, this time examining something submerged in a puddle.

            Qui-Gon couldn’t resist. With a flick of the very willing Force, he splashed his master with water.

            Startled, Dooku looked up. “Qui-Gon, you did not just splash me, did you?” His master tried to look disapproving and didn’t quite manage it.

            Qui-Gon was a picture of perfect innocence. “Of course not, Master. What kind of padawan do you think I am?”

            Dooku smirked. “A very naughty one.” And then he splashed Qui-Gon back.

            That was all it took to set them both off, splashing each other, flinging mud, and generally carrying on like a pair of younglings. By the time they made it to the Temple, they were both a sight to see, soaked to the skin, covered in mud, and grinning like idiots.

            With the help of the Force, Dooku managed to get them both in the same unguarded door Dooku had slipped out of, and they made it back to their quarters. After they’d each had a much-needed shower, they changed into clean, dry clothes. Qui-Gon was sitting on the couch, preparing to redo his padawan braid, when Dooku emerged from his bedroom and sat down beside him.

            Dooku smiled, holding out a bead. It was the purest white that Qui-Gon had ever seen, and he grinned at his master.

            “The lightning tonight was that color…at least how I remember it,” he said quietly.

            His master nodded. “I remember it that way too. It seemed only fitting to mark the occasion of our…shared experience…with this particular bead.” Dooku’s eyes were distant for a moment. “My master Yoda always said that white was the color of new beginnings.” He searched for words, trying to bring order to his overly emotional thoughts. Qui-Gon’s hand covered his, and Dooku nodded his thanks as he finally managed to continue. “May this bead remind us of the Living Force that has given us both an indescribable gift…and our partnership a second chance.”

            They both fell silent, and when Dooku reached for the beads that made up Qui-Gon’s braid, his padawan offered them gladly. With great care, Dooku rebraided Qui-Gon’s hair, slipping the new bead onto the very end of the braid. Smiling, Dooku tugged on it gently.

            At that moment, Dooku’s com link beeped. Dooku sighed as he glanced down at the message then back up at Qui-Gon.

            “Padawan, it seems that we are both being summoned before the Council.” He could not keep the amusement from his gaze. “But for once, I’m reasonably certain that I am the one in trouble.”

            Qui-Gon clasped his hand. “Master, I am as much fault as you in this, I think. I will make sure they are aware of that.”

            Dooku chuckled. “There is no need for you to become defensive over me, though I appreciate the gesture. I assure you, I can handle a Council reprimand.” He gently squeezed Qui-Gon’s hand. “Padawan, regardless of the Council’s reaction, I have no regrets about what happened.”

            The boy smiled. “Master, neither do I.”

            The Council chambers were full by the time the door opened to Dooku’s polite knock. Every Councilor was in attendance, and they watched the young master and his younger padawan with great interest as they made their way to the center of the room and bowed to Master Yoda, the Grandmaster of the Order. The curiosity in the room was nearly palpable, especially from Yoda, whose ears were twitching madly.

            “Master Dooku, found your padawan, you did. Well, you both are?” Yoda asked.

            Dooku nodded. “Yes, Master Yoda. We are both quite well.”

            Apparently, Yoda was disinclined to wait. “Your Force signatures, changed they have. Happened to you during the storm, something did?”

            Dooku looked at Qui-Gon who simply shrugged. Dooku almost chuckled. How did one describe such an experience…especially one that was thought to be only a legend?

            Finally, Dooku looked at Yoda. “Master Yoda, a great deal happened to the two of us during the storm, but this esteemed Council might doubt our sanity if we told you the truth of it.”

            Master Yoda frowned, considering. “Then show us, you will. Open your minds one at a time, and show us your impressions, you will.”

            Again, Dooku glanced at Qui-Gon who smiled. Nobody missed that Dooku returned the smile…Dooku, who had often been called “the man who never smiled,” Dooku who was currently smiling at the padawan he’d so recently been heard to berate.

            “My padawan and I will link our minds and show you our impressions jointly,” Dooku said.

            That caused a ripple of shock in the Council chambers. “Your bond, incomplete it has been. Changed, that has?” Yoda asked.

            Dooku nodded. “Yes, Master, our bond is now complete. It was a…gift…from our experience.”

            Yoda banged his gimer stick on the floor. In that moment, Dooku and Qui-Gon weren’t the only ones stifling chuckles at Yoda being as impatient as a youngling waiting for a sweet.

            “Open your bond to us, you will. Do it now, you will!”

            And they did.

            Silence reigned in the Council chambers for a good ten minutes after they were done as various Councilors recovered themselves and processed what they’d seen. They’d thought it impossible…a mere legend. But it wasn’t. The Force worked in mysterious ways, and this was clearly meant to be an example to all of them of that.

            Yoda radiated satisfaction as he addressed his padawan and grandpadawan.

            “An incredible gift, you have been granted. Waste it not, we beg you.” He paused. “Punishment for your disobedience, Master Dooku, we still require.” Yoda addressed Qui-Gon. “Your master, overwhelmed he is. Teach him to manage this gift, you must.” Yoda smiled at Dooku. “Learn from your padawan, you must. Punishment, sufficient that is.”

            Master Dooku laughed outright then, and no one faulted him for it. He bowed low to Master Yoda. And then Qui-Gon’s stomach took the opportunity to growl rather loudly.

            Poor Qui-Gon turned bright red even as Master Dooku said, “Master Yoda, are we dismissed? My padawan missed dinner last night, and I clearly need to get him fed.”

            Yoda laughed and shook his stick at them. “Off with you! Feed the boy, you must, or with a stick, the Living Force will chase us both!”

            Master Dooku, his hand on Qui-Gon’s back, led him from the room. “You know, padawan, you’re not the only one who’s hungry. I think I heard that the kitchens were going to be making those pastries you like so much today. Shall I see if I can charm the cook into giving you an early taste?” Qui-Gon smiled shyly and nodded. “And then, after we’ve eaten, you can show me those plants in the greenhouse that you were so worried about. Then, we will practice katas.” Dooku paused, looking uncertainly at his padawan. “Do we have a deal?”

            Qui-Gon laughed. “Deal,” he agreed, leaning against his master as they walked down the hall. Dooku snugged the boy closer to his side.

            Yoda watched them walk away. He smiled. “Right about those two, I was. Good for each other, they are.” Change, good change, for both of them, this is.”

             At their backs, the sun rose on a new day.


End file.
